COH-AWH-What_Would_it_Take

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ADDRESSING POVERTY: Youth’s Proposed Solutions Policy & System Change • Stimulate job creation for young people, including through the provision of financial supports (e.g., grants) for young people to create their own jobs and businesses • Increase access to affordable childcare for youth who have children • Remove policies that prohibit recipients from saving income while receiving social assistance • Given that many people on social assistance cannot make ends meet, remove policies that prohibit recipients from working while receiving social assistance • Discipline employers for discriminatory hiring practices • Create accessible pathways for obtaining social assistance for young people and their families • Decrease wait times for receiving social assistance • Reduce bureaucratic barriers and cost to obtaining identity documents Investments • Increase social assistance rates • Reduce or remove the cost of postsecondary education • Stop making cuts to social programs • Create emergency relief funds for youth and their families experiencing crises or facing eviction • Provide financial support to youth who are transitioning between different systems (e.g., between child welfare and disability support programs) • Lower the cost of public transportation Professional Conduct & Training • Ensure staff administering social assistance treat youth equitably, compassionately, and with respect, and do not shame youth for their poverty or choices • Implement mandatory training for employers on the rights of youth employees and their responsibilities as an employer of a young person Interventions • Provide education on obtaining employment (e.g., resume creation, interviewing) in schools and social services, ensuring there is targeted outreach strategy for marginalized youth to access this knowledge • Create and fund programs, incentives, and supports for employers to hire and retain youth at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness, as well as youth experiencing exclusion due to disability, mental health, and health challenges • Provide accessible opportunities and programs for young artists and entrepreneurs to start their own businesses • Provide concrete, hands-on support to connect youth to employment and training opportunities • Offer employment training programs that prepare youth for jobs that are available, inspiring, pay livable wages, and suit their skills and needs • Support youth to obtain secure employment following training programs WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 42
MOVING FORWARD To ensure better outcomes for youth who are struggling, we need to prevent poverty in the homes of young people before they experience homelessness. Findings from this study and the Without a Home: The National Youth Homelessness Survey demonstrate that a great number of youth experience poverty at a young age, and yet we often provide resources only after a young person becomes homeless. “The first time that I ever really realized that food was a hard thing to get was when I was here and Calgary and I watched my brother eat a chicken strip out of the garbage from a KFC bucket.” CALGARY YOUTH If we want to prevent youth homelessness, we need to ensure that young people’s families have the income to support their growth, well-being, security, and education. This means that poverty reduction must be a central pillar of youth homelessness prevention. It also means that we need to embed youth homelessness prevention within federal, provincial/ territorial, and municipal poverty reduction strategies. We also need to ensure that our prevention efforts are based on a candid assessment of the current Canadian economy. Income inequality continues to grow in many Canadian cities, with the mass accumulation of wealth for a few and deep poverty for many (Green, Riddell, & St. Hilaire, 2017). The job market today is difficult for almost any young person (Ng, Lyons, & Schweitzer, 2016). In this context, the deeply held belief that youth who are homeless can “bootstrap” themselves out of poverty through employment is severely out of step with economic reality. The additional challenges that youth experiencing homelessness face, such as poor access to education or discrimination on the basis of class, make it even harder to find gainful employment. Faced with these difficulties, it is unsurprising that some youth feel forced (or coerced) into sex work or drug dealing in order to survive (Gaetz & O’Grady, 2002). WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 43
Page 1 and 2: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? Youth Across Ca
Page 3 and 4: This research was made possible thr
Page 5 and 6: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Are we making sig
Page 7 and 8: YOUTH’S PERSPECTIVES ON PREVENTIO
Page 9 and 10: Youth’s Proposed Solutions • In
Page 11 and 12: • Lack of education for youth on
Page 13 and 14: “My trauma led me down a wrong pa
Page 15 and 16: 5. Align ministerial, departmental,
Page 17 and 18: INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS 1. W
Page 19 and 20: INTRODUCTION Youth homelessness in
Page 21 and 22: Systems change is difficult work. T
Page 23 and 24: Finally, youth homelessness prevent
Page 25 and 26: CONSULTATION PROCESS National consu
Page 27 and 28: Prior to beginning the study, resea
Page 29 and 30: 62 % Self-identified as currently e
Page 31 and 32: WHAT IS YOUTH HOMELESSNESS PREVENTI
Page 33 and 34: YOUTH’S PERSPECTIVES ON PREVENTIO
Page 35 and 36: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 1. STRUCTURAL P
Page 37 and 38: “I think that affordable housing
Page 39 and 40: LOW SOCIAL ASSISTANCE RATES Many yo
Page 41: LOW WAGES & TIGHT JOB MARKETS In th
Page 45 and 46: 1.2 LACK OF HOUSING While youth vie
Page 47 and 48: Public Housing Challenges The lack
Page 49 and 50: MOVING FORWARD The solutions propos
Page 51 and 52: “Well, for me, like, because of r
Page 53 and 54: MOVING FORWARD Indigenous youth vie
Page 55 and 56: “I have friends that are in foste
Page 57 and 58: MOVING FORWARD While youth describe
Page 59 and 60: 1.5 HARMFUL SOCIETAL BELIEFS & VALU
Page 61 and 62: “A lot of systems are still set u
Page 63 and 64: ADDRESSING ADVERSE CHILDHOOD EXPERI
Page 65 and 66: WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 2. SYSTEMS PREV
Page 67 and 68: 2.1 EDUCATION For young people who
Page 69 and 70: 2. Professional Training For the mo
Page 71 and 72: Investments • Provide significant
Page 73 and 74: “Educating teachers, principals,
Page 75 and 76: Experiences in Foster Care Many you
Page 77 and 78: Difficult Transitions from Care Tra
Page 79 and 80: “My parents were good enough at l
Page 81 and 82: 2.3 HEALTHCARE & ADDICTIONS For you
Page 83 and 84: An additional issue raised by many
Page 85 and 86: MOVING FORWARD Without a Home: The
Page 87 and 88: 2.4 YOUTH HOMELESSNESS SECTOR In fo
Page 89 and 90: “Requirements to access help some
Page 91 and 92: “Yeah, when I first moved in [to
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PREVENTING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN TH
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While the recommendations below can
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2.5 CRIMINAL JUSTICE A common conce
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PREVENTING YOUTH HOMELESSNESS IN TH
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MOVING FORWARD Canadian research sh
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WHAT WOULD IT TAKE? 3. PREVENTING I
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ADDRESSING FAMILY CONFLICT, ABUSE,
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“This is real. We did not choose
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Lack of services and supports also
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MOVING FORWARD Youth across the cou
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ADDRESSING SOCIAL EXCLUSION & ISOLA
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“I’m just trying to say that, i
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ADDRESSING VIOLENCE IN THE COMMUNIT
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YOUTH’S MESSAGES TO ALL LEVELS OF
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We need to dramatically shift our a
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RECOMMENDATIONS 1 GOVERNMENT OF CAN
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5. Align ministerial, departmental,
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2. Embed youth homelessness prevent
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INTEGRATED GOVERNMENT SUPPORTS 1. W
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3. Require that all school boards a
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5. Offer comprehensive, youth-focus
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8. Systematically investigate and e
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Provincial/Territorial Ministries R
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6. Seek to provide highly integrate
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3. Foster meaningful youth engageme
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Gaetz, S., O’Grady, B., Kidd, S.,
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Statistics Canada. (2011). National
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